Beer was the national beverage, and it was brewed from good malt and hops; not out of sugar, and chemical bedevilments, as at present: and the quantity drunk in London, alone, seems to be enormous. _Vide_ the _Annual Register_ for 1810: “The Quantity of strong beer brewed by the first twelve houses in the London Porter Brewery, from the 5th of July, 1809, to the 5th of July, 1810. BARRELS. Barclay, Perkins and Co. 235,053 Meux, Read and Co. 211,009 Truman, Hanbury and Co. 144,990 Felix, Calvert and Co. 133,491 Whitbread and Co. 110,939 Henry Meux and Co. 93,660 Combe and Co. 85,150 Brown and Parry 84,475 Goodwin, Skinner and Co. 74,223 Elliott and Co. 57,251 Taylor 44,510 Clowes and Co. 41,594 Wines, of course, were drunk by the higher classes, but French wines were comparatively dear, owing to the closing of the trade with France; still there was a very fair quantity captured in the prizes taken at sea, and there was a great deal more smuggled. Frontignac in 1800 might be bought for 19s. 6d. per doz., and Muscatel at 24s. In 1804, the following are the prices from a respectable wine merchant’s list. Superior Old Port 38s. per dozen. Prime Old Sherry 42s. ” ” Madeira 63s. ” Bucellas 40s. ” Mountain, Lisbon, and Calcavella 38s. ” Superior Claret 70s. ” Cognac Brandy 20s. per gallon. Old Jamaica Rum 15s. ” Holland’s Geneva 10s. ” In 1806, Vin de Grave was 66s. per dozen. For the supply of vegetables, and fruit, large tracts of land were utilized for the supply of London alone. It was reckoned that this city swallowed the produce of 10,000 acres of vegetables, and about 4,000 acres of fruit trees. The market gardens have been gradually disappearing, but they used to be situated principally at Camberwell, Deptford, Fulham, Battersea, Mortlake, Barnes, and Chiswick. This produce found its way to Covent Garden, where the market days were the same as now—Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. During the latter part of the first decade of the century, provisions were not so dear: